Game Preview: New Jersey Devils vs Nashville Predators

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (4-2-0) vs the Nashville Predators (7-2-0; SBN Blog: On the Forecheck)

The Time: 7:00 PM EST

The Broadcast: TV - MSG+

Bouncing Back: There’s a lot of finger-pointing going on following the Devils’ less-than-impressive showing against the Philadelphia Flyers. New Jersey took an early 1-0 lead off a Damon Severson goal that came on a nice feed from Marcus Johansson. Unfortunately, the Devils spent the rest of the game marred by penalties, and never managed to regain the lead after losing it on a Travis Konecny goal about halfway through the first frame. Without much jump, the Devils floundered and flailed, falling 5-2 at the end of a pretty ugly game in Philadelphia. Here’s All About the Jersey’s recap, by Chris Fieldhouse.

Nashville’s Last Game: The Nashville Predators have started this season among the hottest teams in all the NHL. Compiling a 7-2 record in their first 9 games, the Predators appear to have picked up right where their 2017-18 regular season left off. In many of this week’s power rankings the Predators have topped the charts. However, with the recent news of Pekka Rinne’s being placed on the IR, we’ll have to see how his fellow Fin, Juuse Saros, can fill in for him. Many believe the younger, shorter netminder can confidently hold the fort while Nashville’s veteran number one gets back on the ice.

In their previous outing, Nashville took a 2-goal lead into the third period against the San Jose Sharks. However, they seemed to mail in the game too early, and ceded three goals in the final period to fall 5-4 in a stunning defeat. Here’s On the Forecheck’s recap, by Bobby Misey.

The Lineup: Amanda Stein posted the Devils’ lines from a short, but quick-paced and scenario-intensive practice on Wednesday:

Other notes from Devils practice include the returns of Jesper Bratt and Ben Lovejoy. Bratt remains on schedule for his return, for Lovejoy, this is the first time we’ve seen him skating on his own since his placement on IR earlier this week.

Both Coach John Hynes and Travis Zajac mentioned the necessity of speaking with team trainers before Zajac is officially placed back in the lineup. Though signs are pointing to a return in short order from number 19.

Meanwhile, in Binghamton, it appears Cory Schneider will have at least one more game in his rehab stint with the B-Devs.

In Closing: What are your thoughts? How do the Devils fair in this one against one of the league’s top squads? Let us know in the comments section below.